The total profits of seven Chinese tyre makers fell in the first half of 2011 compared to a year ago, despite higher revenues. The seven tyre makers included Double Coin Holdings, Aeolus, Qingdao Double Star and ST Yellow Sea. Yellow Sea was reportedly the only one of the seven to report a overall loss, according to news reports.
For more than 165 years Schrader has sought to lead the design and manufacture of valve, mechanical and electronic system components and sensing technologies, now this taking on a YouTube channel as well!
Retreaders and retread sellers in the US state of Michigan may be forced to perform the tyre industry equivalent of cleaning up dog doo from the front lawn – even though someone else’s puppy left the mess. A new Bill introduced into the Michigan House of Representatives recommends imposing a US$5.00 fee upon every retreaded tyre sold by a retailer within the state, with the funds generated by this fee used for the “cleanup of roadside waste from deteriorated retread tyres” and other recycling and littler cleanup.
It isn’t easy attracting new staff to the world of commercial tyre fitting; indeed both leading and independent service providers report finding it difficult to recruit young, enthusiastic candidates. But for its part Tyre Maintenance is committing to partner with one of the UK’s leading training organisations, Remit (Retail Motor Industry Training).
In their daily automotive sector report, analysts at Deutsche Bank observe that while most tyre companies budget a natural rubber price of US$5.00 per kilogram for 2011, the current price for the commodity is, at $4.20 per kilogram, 15 per cent below this planned-for figure. As natural rubber purchasing costs account for between 13 and 18 per cent of sales, they posit that recent declines in the price of natural rubber could “have a meaningful impact” on next year’s tyre maker earnings, assuming – the analysts add, that the industry retains similar discipline to that it has demonstrated in the last few years.
The Dunlop Tyres Motorcycle division has announced that its former design engineer Mark Sears will take up a new role as product support manager from 1 October 2011. Sears has 23 years of experience with Dunlop, having joined the company as an apprentice in 1988. He replaces Bryn Phillips directly in his latest role.
Imagine the thought of tens of thousands of mobile traffic cameras on our roads. No these are not the kind of traffic cameras that are fitted to high police vehicles or are erected at the side of the road. We are talking about cameras installed in private cars, rusty old vans, delivery lorries and even public buses. No its not a nightmare it is the future according to one ex-police chief.
Nottinghamshire’s Midland Skip Hire has appointed ATS Euromaster to supply, fit and service tyres across its 62-strong fleet. ATS-E will provide monthly fleet inspections and rapid-response breakdown assistance across the waste disposal and skip hire company’s 37 trucks, eight trailers and five vans. The on-road fleet, plus 12 telescopic handlers used onsite for waste transfer, will be supported by the nationwide tyre specialist’s mobile service fleet – the UK’s largest at 1,000 vehicles.
The estimated cost of tackling the Swansea tyre fire that burned for 22 days in June and July has been estimated at more than £1.5 million, according to a local news report by the BBC today. The former Mettoys factory, which was illegally housing around 5,000 tonnes of shredded tyres, was completely destroyed by the blaze. It is likely that the local council will be forced to foot much of the bill, though a Swansea council spokesperson said there was an ongoing attempt to recover some of the costs from the operation.
It used to be said that cleanliness is next to godliness, yet these days it seems we’re more likely to kneel when washing the Mondeo than in fervent prayer. A study conducted by ICM Research for Kwik-Fit shows that some 6.2 million, or 19 per cent of British motorists, religiously clean and check their vehicle at least once a week. This compares with just 4.2 million Britons who, according to a Tearfund research report from 2007, attend church with such regularity. On a monthly basis the gap grows even wider; the ICM survey of 2,000 UK adults indicates almost three times as many people, or 21.5 million, attend to their vehicular ahead of their spiritual needs. And it may or may not be coincidence that the most popular time to attend to car care chores is between 10am and 11am on Sunday – a direct clash with many church services.
Dunlop India Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange of Pawan Kumar Ruia’s resignation as company director, effective August 10. The chairman of parent company the Ruia Group now holds no official office at Dunlop India, having stepped down as chairman of the tyre maker’s Board of Directors on January 31, 2011.
Mark Twain once stated that “the report of my death was an exaggeration.” Now it’s the turn of Retread Tire Association managing director Harvey Brodsky to discover others had received word of his demise. Unlike in Twain’s day, news now travels around the globe at the click of a mouse and the misunderstanding over Brodsky’s status arose from a Google alert announcing the death of another Harvey Brodsky that hailed from the same neighbourhood.
Italian tyre giant Pirelli could be considering an investment in the future of its Carlisle plant according to a report by regional newspaper The Cumberland News. The paper reports a conversation with Pirelli’s UK Industrial director Paolo Battistini, who suggested that the company has some “investment forecast for this factory.” Battistini also reiterated the company’s desire to stay in Carlisle, while engineering manager Allan Wilson told the paper that “We want to develop new products in Carlisle for the UK. We’re constantly putting forward our case for investment.”
Dow Jones is reporting today that a fire has stopped production at a Bridgestone tyre plant in Tokyo. While details are thin on the ground the Dow report suggests the fire started at around 20:00 local time on 1 August and was extinguished just after midnight on 2 August. There were no reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire and its impact remains unknown.
Telford based tyre wholesaler, Treadsetters recently expanded its product portfolio with the introduction of its own truck tyre private brand called “Torque.” This latest addition to Treadsetters’ extensive truck range is designed to complement the already established Hifly range, which is pitched as a 'value for money' tyre along with the Insa Turbo range of retreaded tyres.
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